Dealing with an airline that's lost your luggage and doesn't even know what city it's in is always a frustrating experience. One startup at the Consumer Electronics Show says it has the answer: a $50 cellular device that sits in your luggage and pinpoints its location.

The product is called Trakdot and was made by a company called GlobaTrac, which says it's in a pilot production run and will be sold to consumers in March. The device will cost $50 and require a $12 yearly charge to use the service, which lets you track the device on a website and get text message alerts about your luggage's location.

If a bag doesn't reach its intended destination, "the airlines don't know where it is," GlobaTrac CTO Joseph Morgan told Ars at the CES Unveiled event Sunday night. "If it ain't where it's supposed to be, they've lost it, they don't know where it is. They will eventually find it, but that doesn't give you peace of mind."

Morgan contends that using cellular signals is better than GPS, because with GPS "if you don't have a good view of the sky it can still get lost."

To locate itself using cellular signals, the device has to communicate with cell towers, of course. So how does Morgan pull that off? He said he operates a small wireless carrier called Aspenta, and has roaming agreements with the major carriers allowing the Trakdot device to work worldwide. We couldn't find a website for Aspenta, but there is a Federal Communications Commission filing listing Morgan as the owner of Aspenta in Georgia.

"We are a cell phone carrier. These devices only communicate with my carrier, and I have roaming agreements with the world," Morgan said.

Morgan is a 40-year veteran of the communications industry with experience at NASA, IBM, Delta Airlines, and more, according to the GlobaTrac website.

Besides simply locating your luggage on a map, Morgan has a couple other tricks up his sleeve. The device will also use BlueTooth to communicate with an app on your iPhone or Android. That way, you can watch its progress along the conveyor belt as you're waiting for your luggage. If it works, that's a neat trick given how similar most pieces of luggage looks these days, but certainly isn't as useful as locating luggage that's been lost altogether.

Using double-A batteries, the device should keep a charge for about three weeks if it's running constantly, Morgan said. It should work in nearly any suitcase, but perhaps not ones made of metal.

The device also temporarily shuts itself off during a plane's takeoff and landing, using an accelerometer to sense speed. "Right before the airplane takes off it goes into auto shutdown. It stays off for 20 minutes and then it comes back on in receive mode only," Morgan said.

While Morgan said "There are no guidelines about devices that ride in the belly of the aircraft today," he's worried that won't always be the case. "We didn't want to spend millions of dollars creating something that could get outlawed."

Promoted Comments

This is a fantastic idea! For anyone passing regularly through London's Heathrow Airport, this device will be an essential item. (Heathrow is notorious for regularly losing 100k suitcases at a time and, instead of returning them to their rightful owners, giving a standard low rate of compensation to each traveller while auctioning off the surplus luggage.)

Quote:

While Morgan said "There are no guidelines about devices that ride in the belly of the aircraft today," he's worried that won't always be the case. "We didn't want to spend millions of dollars creating something that could get outlawed."

—If any airline, airport authority or government tries pushing for these to be "outlawed" so as to pre-empt the embarrassing eventuality of the passenger knowing more than they do about the whereabouts of their luggage; we should vote with our feet. Please keep us informed.

Question 1: Could I also use this as a poor man's vehicle tracker? I presume that if our modest vehicle is ever stolen, the thief will steal first and search later (meaning, the device may confer some advantages).

Question 2: Will they please include some flash memory and a light meter (to make it a sort of black-box continuous recording device), so we can have evidence if our luggage is mishandled or opened, (or, additional evidence of velocity and deceleration in case of vehicle collision) and the timing of such events? I'm remembering my wife's hair drier, which arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in no less than five pieces despite being well padded with clothes; and remembering a famous old news video where airline employees were caught on CCTV playing basketball with suitcases market "delicate", throwing them up and over into 8ft tall trolleys.

So you're the reason the carry-on luggage bins are always overflowing.

Seriously, if they're gonna charge for luggage, I wish they'd just charge for luggage--carry-on or checked. The current system has perverse incentives towards antisocial behavior, and the nominal checks on that behavior are rarely-to-never enforced. Just make it $1/kg (or some such), and weigh the carry-on bags, etc., as they go through x-ray.

The airlines are trying to create an incentive to use carry-ons instead of checked bags. For checked bags, the airline has to do the work. For carry-ons, much of that work is shifted onto TSA agents who have to examine your bags. So this "perverse incentive" shifts costs from the airline to the TSA, which is to say to taxpayers.

Anyway... I wonder how many of these will show up on http://unclaimedbaggage.com/ That site is also the answer to those of you who doubt luggage still gets lost.

51 Reader Comments

I wonder if it'll get broken by the people who are inspecting the luggage, thinking it's a bomb. Because they did this to a portable speaker I left in the suitcase... by breaking the battery cover. Seems like it's a good idea, but there could be first adopter issues...

Interesting idea. You could approximate the functionality (and avoid the ongoing charges) by using an iPhone or iPod with wi-fi assisted GPS and the "Find iPhone" app. Of course, you wouldn't want to use your primary devices, both for practical and risk-of-theft reasons. But if you have an older device that's since been replaced by something else then this might be a good use for it, rather than just having it sitting in a drawer gathering dust.

Right before the airplane takes off it goes into auto shutdown. It stays off for 20 minutes and then it comes back on in receive mode only

What about during the flight and while the plane is landing? Sounds like it doesn't shut down or go into the equivalent of a phone's "airplane mode".

On the other hand, those rules are idiotic and not enforced. I put it in the same category as filling my car up with petrol, while my phone is turned on inside my pocket a few centimetres away from the fuel vapours. No kasplosions yet...

hux wrote:

Interesting idea. You could approximate the functionality (and avoid the ongoing charges) by using an iPhone or iPod with wi-fi assisted GPS and the "Find iPhone" app. Of course, you wouldn't want to use your primary devices, both for practical and risk-of-theft reasons. But if you have an older device that's since been replaced by something else then this might be a good use for it, rather than just having it sitting in a drawer gathering dust.

"Find my iPhone" does not work well over wifi. You have to actually be connected to a wifi network for it to work, and they will not connect when the display is turned off (that would kill battery).

You would have to use an actual iPhone, and it would need an active phone service... but that will cost a lot more than $12 per year.

A more realistic alternative might be SPOT. However it uses a satellite data connection which is expensive and unreliable without line of sight to the sky. If you have one, it's worth testing but I doubt it will work well.

This is a fantastic idea! For anyone passing regularly through London's Heathrow Airport, this device will be an essential item. (Heathrow is notorious for regularly losing 100k suitcases at a time and, instead of returning them to their rightful owners, giving a standard low rate of compensation to each traveller while auctioning off the surplus luggage.)

Quote:

While Morgan said "There are no guidelines about devices that ride in the belly of the aircraft today," he's worried that won't always be the case. "We didn't want to spend millions of dollars creating something that could get outlawed."

—If any airline, airport authority or government tries pushing for these to be "outlawed" so as to pre-empt the embarrassing eventuality of the passenger knowing more than they do about the whereabouts of their luggage; we should vote with our feet. Please keep us informed.

Question 1: Could I also use this as a poor man's vehicle tracker? I presume that if our modest vehicle is ever stolen, the thief will steal first and search later (meaning, the device may confer some advantages).

Question 2: Will they please include some flash memory and a light meter (to make it a sort of black-box continuous recording device), so we can have evidence if our luggage is mishandled or opened, (or, additional evidence of velocity and deceleration in case of vehicle collision) and the timing of such events? I'm remembering my wife's hair drier, which arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in no less than five pieces despite being well padded with clothes; and remembering a famous old news video where airline employees were caught on CCTV playing basketball with suitcases market "delicate", throwing them up and over into 8ft tall trolleys.

Question 1: could I also use this as a poor man's vehicle tracker? I presume that if our modest vehicle is ever stolen, the thief will steal first and search later (meaning, the device may confer some advantages).

In the US there is a commercial product that has existed for decades (I had one in the 80's and thankfully never had to put it to use) called LoJack. Police departments have special antennae on their cars to track down the stolen vehicle once the hidden transmitter activates.

Quote:

Question 2: will they please include an accelerometer, some flash memory and a light meter (a sort of black-box) in a premium version, so we can have evidence if our luggage is mishandled or opened?

Again, there are commercial devices available for sensitive freight that record rapid accel/deceleration. Probably too expensive for the average consumer, but these days maybe not too far off.

I can think of a dual-power hack. It'd run off the car battery while it's in ignition, and it'll run off the battery while it's not. I'd add a charger circuit, so I wouldn't have to swap batteries either. Install somewhere a thief probably wouldn't pry open (well, at least immediately) and you have a car tracking system.

Actually, TrackDot should just offer an automobile version. I know there are multitudes of car tracking systems already out there, but worldwide roaming sounds nice. I'd be weird to see your stolen car showing up in another continent and all...

...also available in other countries besides the US. Typically effective but too expensive for most people (hence my question about this device, which is cheaper than LoJack etc.) Another reason for my asking this question: most people don't travel more than once every few months by air, but travel frequently by road. If this device was effective at both applications, it would have a much bigger market and would be more appealing to minimalists like me.

dlux wrote:

...Again, there are commercial devices available for sensitive freight that record rapid accel/deceleration. Probably too expensive for the average consumer, but these days maybe not too far off.

Price, as you mention. There's already an accelerometer in this device (I corrected my original post), so all the more reason to include this function (or, the fewer excuses not to)...

Interesting idea. You could approximate the functionality (and avoid the ongoing charges) by using an iPhone or iPod with wi-fi assisted GPS and the "Find iPhone" app. Of course, you wouldn't want to use your primary devices, both for practical and risk-of-theft reasons. But if you have an older device that's since been replaced by something else then this might be a good use for it, rather than just having it sitting in a drawer gathering dust.

Yeah,I've been doing the same thing though with Android devices - I've got a pair of old Huawei phones with extended batteries that I dump in my baggage as 'trackers'. Btw,just for tracking general location/airport,I've noticed that even just using WiFi/Cell tower triangulation is accurate to ~20-30 metres without the additional drain of the onboard GPS.Still,I'm lucky to have never had to use them as 'intended',though flying often with Ryanair it's not a question 'if' it's going to happen,but 'when'

Edit:I checked the current price of the Huawei and it's <50 bucks with a prepaid SIM

I'm sure they could find a workable agreement with the airlines... for example, if the device is higher than X meters, or traveling faster than Y km/ph, (ie: in the air, moving fast) go into a sleep mode. Most mobile phones gps does this already for security reasons.

I don't see how this would improve things. Using double-A batteries, the device should keep a charge for about three weeks if it's running constantly, Morgan said. It should work in nearly any suitcase, but perhaps not ones made of metal.

You: You guys lost my luggage.Agent: Uh huh. This happens sometimes, sir. We'll let you know if we find it.You: According to this tracking device, it's in Memphis.Agent: Memphis is a big airport, sir. It's a hub.You: Well, that's where the suitcase is.Agent: Uh huh, we'll call you if we find it. [does nothing but put a note in your complaint file][weeks go by, last response before death says "I'm in Memphis."]

- Or the device can't send out a signal because it's buried under a lot of luggage,- in a metal-enclosed space like a corrugated shipping container.- Or the device is removed as "a suspicious device" conveniently by an airline/airport who doesn't want blame.

Delta scans the bags at every stage, and you can even type the bag tag in online and it shows you the whole history. While it's possible your bag ends up somewhere it shouldn't, there really isn't a situation where it's lost.

Delta scans the bags at every stage, and you can even type the bag tag in online and it shows you the whole history. While it's possible your bag ends up somewhere it shouldn't, there really isn't a situation where it's lost.

That's correct. Every bag is bar coded and scanned. While a bag might be misrouted, it's not lost. And from a pot odds angle, assuming the odds of losing a bag are 1:100 (that's probably a high estimate), your suitcase has to be worth $5000 for this to make any sense.

Actually, TrackDot should just offer an automobile version. I know there are multitudes of car tracking systems already out there, but worldwide roaming sounds nice. I'd be weird to see your stolen car showing up in another continent and all...

This is a fantastic idea! For anyone passing regularly through London's Heathrow Airport, this device will be an essential item. (Heathrow is notorious for regularly losing 100k suitcases at a time and, instead of returning them to their rightful owners, giving a standard low rate of compensation to each traveller while auctioning off the surplus luggage.)

Delta scans the bags at every stage, and you can even type the bag tag in online and it shows you the whole history. While it's possible your bag ends up somewhere it shouldn't, there really isn't a situation where it's lost.

That's correct. Every bag is bar coded and scanned. While a bag might be misrouted, it's not lost. And from a pot odds angle, assuming the odds of losing a bag are 1:100 (that's probably a high estimate), your suitcase has to be worth $5000 for this to make any sense.

That's kind of correct. Last year a colleague checked a bag in New Orleans and it didn't turn up in Amsterdam. Delta claimed the bag had gone to South Carolina instead (initially), 2 days later they admitted they had no idea where his luggage was, they hadn't seen it since Atlanta. A week later it finally arrived, without so much as an apology from Delta.

...also available in other countries besides the US. Typically effective but too expensive for most people (hence my question about this device, which is cheaper than LoJack etc.) Another reason for my asking this question: most people don't travel more than once every few months by air, but travel frequently by road. If this device was effective at both applications, it would have a much bigger market and would be more appealing to minimalists like me.

dlux wrote:

...Again, there are commercial devices available for sensitive freight that record rapid accel/deceleration. Probably too expensive for the average consumer, but these days maybe not too far off.

Price, as you mention. There's already an accelerometer in this device (I corrected my original post), so all the more reason to include this function (or, the fewer excuses not to)...

Check out the SenseAware (http://www.senseaware.com) devices from FedEx, they do location, light, temperature, humidity, and pressure. No idea on the price, but it seems like it's a more advanced version of the TrakDot.

So you're the reason the carry-on luggage bins are always overflowing.

Seriously, if they're gonna charge for luggage, I wish they'd just charge for luggage--carry-on or checked. The current system has perverse incentives towards antisocial behavior, and the nominal checks on that behavior are rarely-to-never enforced. Just make it $1/kg (or some such), and weigh the carry-on bags, etc., as they go through x-ray.

Question 2: Will they please include some flash memory and a light meter (to make it a sort of black-box continuous recording device), so we can have evidence if our luggage is mishandled or opened, (or, additional evidence of velocity and deceleration in case of vehicle collision) and the timing of such events?[/quote]

A black-box recording w/ accelerometer would be great, and perhaps also audio recording above a certain threshold of volume around human speech frequencies.. or just permanent audio recording until batteries run out, if memory is cheaper than the processor that would require.

Delta scans the bags at every stage, and you can even type the bag tag in online and it shows you the whole history. While it's possible your bag ends up somewhere it shouldn't, there really isn't a situation where it's lost.

That's correct. Every bag is bar coded and scanned. While a bag might be misrouted, it's not lost. And from a pot odds angle, assuming the odds of losing a bag are 1:100 (that's probably a high estimate), your suitcase has to be worth $5000 for this to make any sense.

it's not always about the monetary value. Sometimes I just want my damn underwear and t-shirts back instead of getting the equivalents in cash and having to go and buy them again.

So you're the reason the carry-on luggage bins are always overflowing.

Seriously, if they're gonna charge for luggage, I wish they'd just charge for luggage--carry-on or checked. The current system has perverse incentives towards antisocial behavior, and the nominal checks on that behavior are rarely-to-never enforced. Just make it $1/kg (or some such), and weigh the carry-on bags, etc., as they go through x-ray.

I couldn't disagree more. In Europe, most airlines have an IATA standard sized cage at the checkin desk, that you can drop your carry-on into, if there is any doubt at all. It's quick and simple. It only creates a "peverse incentive" if you're stupid and lazy about how you run your airline.

So you're the reason the carry-on luggage bins are always overflowing.

Seriously, if they're gonna charge for luggage, I wish they'd just charge for luggage--carry-on or checked. The current system has perverse incentives towards antisocial behavior, and the nominal checks on that behavior are rarely-to-never enforced. Just make it $1/kg (or some such), and weigh the carry-on bags, etc., as they go through x-ray.

The airlines are trying to create an incentive to use carry-ons instead of checked bags. For checked bags, the airline has to do the work. For carry-ons, much of that work is shifted onto TSA agents who have to examine your bags. So this "perverse incentive" shifts costs from the airline to the TSA, which is to say to taxpayers.

Anyway... I wonder how many of these will show up on http://unclaimedbaggage.com/ That site is also the answer to those of you who doubt luggage still gets lost.

I don't see how this would improve things. Using double-A batteries, the device should keep a charge for about three weeks if it's running constantly, Morgan said. It should work in nearly any suitcase, but perhaps not ones made of metal.

You: You guys lost my luggage.Agent: Uh huh. This happens sometimes, sir. We'll let you know if we find it.You: According to this tracking device, it's in Memphis.Agent: Memphis is a big airport, sir. It's a hub.You: Well, that's where the suitcase is.Agent: Uh huh, we'll call you if we find it. [does nothing but put a note in your complaint file][weeks go by, last response before death says "I'm in Memphis."]

- Or the device can't send out a signal because it's buried under a lot of luggage,- in a metal-enclosed space like a corrugated shipping container.- Or the device is removed as "a suspicious device" conveniently by an airline/airport who doesn't want blame.

Pretty much this. The only way it would benefit you is if the airlines really didn't know where the baggage was and could use this internally to get a clue. They're not going to take your word that you know exactly where they left it.

Delta scans the bags at every stage, and you can even type the bag tag in online and it shows you the whole history. While it's possible your bag ends up somewhere it shouldn't, there really isn't a situation where it's lost.

In my former job I worked on a baggage tracking system. It's not used by US domestic carriers much (it is in some international terminals), but it's pretty popular internationally. AFAIK all of the domestic carriers have their own in-house systems as well (such as the one described for Delta).

Bag tags are scanned at pretty much every point, and there's tracking to attempt to ensure that flights contain all the bags they are supposed to AND do not contain bags they are not. And the flight isn't supposed to be let go if things are out of whack. In theory.

In reality, bags do get really and truly lost. Duplicate bag tag ids can be printed at check-in (by accident, and rarely, but it happens), so now there's 2 bags with the same tag. One of them is going to get lost. Bags fall off of belts and carts. Bags get picked up, scanned, and the baggage handler gets interrupted by his boss before he loads the thing into the container -- so now the bag reads as being loaded when it's actually sitting to the side somewhere while the handler gets ripped a new one. Which will lead to the next ripping.

Yes, the last scan location can tell you what airport it's at. If they're setup correctly it'll even tell you what station it was last seen at, or if they use RFID (which only Hong Kong International Airport does in my experience) it can tell with interim locations as they move down belts and through automated sorting systems, but that doesn't mean much. Airports are BIG places, and stuff gets moved or lost by accident.

And, of course, there's also malice. One version of our software actually raised alerts if bags weren't seen between two locations within a certain amount of time -- which reduced employee pilferage by something like 90%. But that feature isn't in the newer version, and most airports don't have the data or the checkpoints to set that up in a meaningful way anyway.

What I'm more interested in is how this is going to get signal underground with 10' of rebar and concrete between it and the surface. Many baggage handling systems are entirely underground, under the main concourse(s) of the airport. They don't get cellular signals. So it may tell you where it was last seen before descending into the bowels of the BHS, but the airline is going to tell you the same thing. And even if it's above ground, you're not going to get to those areas of the airport -- they're secured, employee with proper access only.

So you're the reason the carry-on luggage bins are always overflowing.

Not at all. I do this strange thing call "Only bring what I need" and fit it all into one carry on. If I'm not sure I need something I leave it behind with plans to just buy it if it turns out I need it.

Most people that travel regularly avoid checking a bag not only because they get lost but also it can take forever to check them in and pick them up.